CONWAY -- A historic church in this Franklin County hilltown will be demolished, and a new building will be designed and constructed to take its place.

The United Church of Conway suffered structural damage when a February 2017 hurricane ripped through the town's Pumpkin Hollow neighborhood. A valiant community campaign to save the 19th-century structure ensued.

With a recent $1.5 million insurance settlement, the preservation effort has come to an end, and the congregation is planning new construction.

"We've had time to grieve, we've had time to accept, and we've had time to begin dreaming again," Rev. Candice M. Ashenden told the Greenfield Recorder.

The settlement acknowledges that insurance adjusters and inspectors found the building beyond repair, with cracks to its foundation, threats of roof collapse, and a bell tower separated from the building.

The church was first built in 1841, and rebuilt in 1885 after a fire. It will be leveled over the summer. A historic organ was removed and placed in a safe, climate-controlled location, Ashenden previously said.

The congregation must pay back $100,000 of Community Preservation Act funds it had received from the town for historic restoration, and already spent some money to stabilize the building. That means the congregation will be left with about $1 million to build its new home.

The new church will likely go up at the same location, but other sites could be considered, Ashenden said. The congregation has continued to meet at the Whately Congregational Church and Conway Grammar School.